This invention relates to the field of index file cards and cases therefor.
In the prior art, the cards typically are inserted completely into the case, including the projecting tab portions, and a cover for the case is provided. In order to look at the index tabs, the cover must be lifted and one must reach down into the case in order to remove a card. Of necessity, such a case must be sufficiently oversize to provide room for one's thumb and fingers to reach in to partially examine and retrieve a desired card. Such excess space allows cards to lean, to eventually bend and become deformed.
The sleeve in accordance with the present invention is relatively narrow and compact for a given number of index cards, since there is no need to reach into the sleeve cavity to examine or retrieve a desired card. The entire tabulating strip portion is supported above the case and may be visually inspected in its entirety outside of the sleeve. The upwardly projecting tabs may be flexed to examine the portion of the card lying behind each tab. Each card may furthermore be withdrawn from the sleeve by grasping the tabulating strip portion which projects above the sleeve and without reaching into the cavity. The fact that the index cards in accordance with this invention can be packed so compactly in the sleeve makes it possible to use without a cover.